Stage 2 of Le Tour de France proved once again that this is exactly the sport we thought it was.
With breathtaking views following the peloton from Tarragona to Barcelona, the ride along was simply a treat.
As our first “normal” stage of the Tour, a breakaway was established early, almost gaining a four-minute advantage. Eventually, Tom Pidcock of Pinarello-Q36.5, formerly the INEOS phenom, drove the peloton to catch them before the start of the final few ascents toward Barcelona.
Team UAE Emirates-XRG, the Tour favorites, immediately took control by way of American Brandon McNulty. His incredible pace helped set the bar so high, only his teammate, Adam Yates, could up the ante.
He was quickly attacked by some of the best competition in the pack, including Tiesj Benoot of Decathlon CMA CGM, Tobias Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility, Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost, and Mattias Skjelmose of Lidl-Trek, all of whom will be looking for a stage win or even more this year.
In a shocking last-second break, Isaac del Toro, UAE Emirates-XRG’s Tour rookie and champion of Mexico, catapulted ahead with the help of his teammate and Tour favorite Tadej Pogacar.
Is Pogacar gifting wins this early in the Tour a show of confidence and potential domination ahead?
